I saw two ladies commuting with their partners supporting them yesterday. The second one was hilarious. There was this lady struggling (clearly) along on a bike and then a few metres in front was this clearly fit guy in full kit ambling along with a HUUUGE backpack looking back and encouraging her

If I could carry my wifes stuff for her to help with the first few commutes I'd do that too. Alas logistics mean that we can't ride together

I reckon that's great. The more ladies that get involved the more it will be normal for everyone to ride. YAAY.

In regards to the lady at work I used my contacts (as works bike geek) to arrange for two lady guides for her. Hopefully she takes them up.

human909 wrote:Cycling, and this forum is especially bad for it, is pitched as a fast, aggressive, unsafe and lycra clad activity. No wonder ladies don't commute. A good start would be dropping this image.

That should be no reason for a women to throw her hand to her forehead and say, "oh my its too hard." Nobody said you had to dress in lycra to get to work, hold your line and you wont have a problem

Good grief. O&R passed a slim lady on a commuter bike in the Gong Ride (not Julie !) who had pretty much the widest seat I've seen, with her hips rocking side to side. Ordinarily, that's an indication that you're seat is too high and your likely to be putting weight on bits that aren't meant to take it. Now I'm confused

WombatK

Somebody has to do something, and it's just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us -Jerry Garcia

Hmmmm.Quinn's Rocks is an old beach side suburb in the far northern part of Perth. I have ridden more road miles than I care to count.I ride a Selle San Marco Rolls saddle (wide and comfortable) set to the correct height.I am male and of straight persuasion.I hope this clears things for you.

Missy24 wrote:That being said, there's always women on their commute in Melbourne and they do fine, rain and shine, they're dressed how they want to dress and they're on the bike that they want to ride.

Hi

Plus one. I get dropped often by women going bloody fast in their lycra. I ride with some bloody good ones too when I managed to get to Saturday morn rides. What you wear or your style shouldn't have anything to do with it.

I notice here since this thread fired up that there are a lot of women commuting regularly on my the northern PSP here in Perth ... just as there are lot of men. All good IMO.

I've been thinking more and more about commuting to and from work, around 19km each way, but I'd have to travel along Great Northern Highway with all the road trains and myriad other heavy vehicles which really puts me off. I see cyclists travelling along this route quite often and wonder how they manage it - I don't know that I'll ever be game enough (or fit enough, for that matter ).

mlnewman wrote:I've been thinking more and more about commuting to and from work, around 19km each way, but I'd have to travel along Great Northern Highway with all the road trains and myriad other heavy vehicles which really puts me off. I see cyclists travelling along this route quite often and wonder how they manage it - I don't know that I'll ever be game enough (or fit enough, for that matter ).

My experienc commuting and touring has been that the truckies are the most polite drivers on the roads, as long as you ride predictably and make it clear you are claiming lane space (DO NOT ride in the gutter). Best thing would be to 'suck it and see'. Maybe start with a weekend ride for part of the route and do it with another more experienced rider.

human909 wrote: and this forum is especially bad for it, is pitched as a fast, aggressive, unsafe and lycra clad activity. No wonder ladies don't commute. A good start would be dropping this image.

In Paris, italy and switzerland last year I noticed little in the way of faux-racing attire and carbon fibre. The only place at all was in switzerland in the country for weekend group rides. And the much touted free loan bikes of Paris, though highly visible at the bike-points were seldom actually on the roads. And while there were bikes being ridden in Paris, not as many as I had been led to believe. Lots of bike, but almost all of them parked or locked. In several cities and region in italy the same except that there were no loaners and the locked up bikes were often damaged and seemed to be abandoned for days at a time.

But to humans point, after five weeks away I came to the conclusion that the use of lycra and racing togs and the prevalence of males is not universal. Are we the odd ones out?

Last edited by ColinOldnCranky on Tue Jan 11, 2011 1:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.

If it's about mixing it with the highway truckies being part of that image - well you don't really have to go fast (although it helps not to dawdle), you don't need to be aggressive just assertive, it is not unsafe, and lycra is certainly not required (in fact my experience is that normal clothes seems to get me less aggro).

mlnewman wrote:I've been thinking more and more about commuting to and from work, around 19km each way, but I'd have to travel along Great Northern Highway with all the road trains and myriad other heavy vehicles which really puts me off. I see cyclists travelling along this route quite often and wonder how they manage it - I don't know that I'll ever be game enough (or fit enough, for that matter ).

Ive been for a couple of rides along Great Northern Hwy from Roe Hwy to West Swan Rd and back over the past few weeks and the trucks havent been a problem. The bike lane along side this part of GNH is great. Its wide enough that your away from the trucks but not right on the edge. I feel safer riding this road than Reid Hwy between Tonkin and Alexander drive.

johnny99 wrote:Ive been for a couple of rides along Great Northern Hwy from Roe Hwy to West Swan Rd and back over the past few weeks and the trucks havent been a problem. The bike lane along side this part of GNH is great. Its wide enough that your away from the trucks but not right on the edge. I feel safer riding this road than Reid Hwy between Tonkin and Alexander drive.

The bit I'd have to do would be from Bullsbrook to Muchea. I do see cyclists along this stretch, so it's obviously doable. I'll work on my fitness, as I currently only do short rides, and then try tackling it on a weekend as suggested.

human909 wrote:Cycling, and this forum is especially bad for it, is pitched as a fast, aggressive, unsafe and lycra clad activity. No wonder ladies don't commute. A good start would be dropping this image.

That should be no reason for a women to throw her hand to her forehead and say, "oh my its too hard." Nobody said you had to dress in lycra to get to work, hold your line and you wont have a problem

HTFU ladies, for heavens sake.. its not hard

Agree. The excuses I hear for not commuting are ridiculous (coming from women). You can always work around clothes, food, etc. I carry a bagpack with cans of butter beans, clothes, etc 27.5km and back...or if you don't want to do that, take clothes/food to your work during the weekend, put your clothes in a drawer if you don't have a locker. Keep your shoes at work. There are options if you want to find a solution. Really, it's not that hard!

human909 wrote:Cycling, and this forum is especially bad for it, is pitched as a fast, aggressive, unsafe and lycra clad activity. No wonder ladies don't commute. A good start would be dropping this image.

That should be no reason for a women to throw her hand to her forehead and say, "oh my its too hard." Nobody said you had to dress in lycra to get to work, hold your line and you wont have a problem

HTFU ladies, for heavens sake.. its not hard

Agree. The excuses I hear for not commuting are ridiculous (coming from women). You can always work around clothes, food, etc. I carry a bagpack with cans of butter beans, clothes, etc 27.5km and back...or if you don't want to do that, take clothes/food to your work during the weekend, put your clothes in a drawer if you don't have a locker. Keep your shoes at work. There are options if you want to find a solution. Really, it's not that hard!

The thing is you've got to want to make the change. I don't sense that in most people I talk to about commuting. They are lazy

There has been a noticeable increase in the number of females commuting to Sydney CBD. This is due to the new city bike paths providing the opportunity to ride separated from the traffic.

The lycra thing pretty much boils down to whether you sweat or not on your ride. If you don't then you can wear your work clothes, but if you do then you need separate clothes for the ride and many choose lycra for its comfort.

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